Caught
by LadyAlambiel
Summary: Yesterday I had been worried about being caught by the matchmakers, today it was obvious that something had been caught after all…


Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Yesterday I had been worried about being caught by the matchmakers, today it was obvious that something had been caught after all…

A/N: A semi-fluffy oneshot requested by MCH. Hope you like it. This is part of my _A Light in the Darkness_ universe. But, you can read it as a standalone if you so choose. Enjoy!

**Caught**

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22 Stormfall 1007

I hurried down the garden path, picking up my skirts a bit, as I moved a little faster. Thunder rumbled overhead. Why did I agree to meet Oreius in the gardens? We were going to get caught in the rain. I rounded a corner and promptly ran right into Oreius, bouncing off his side. Fortunately, after six years of my running, sliding, and just plain crashing into him, the Kentauri reacted fast enough to catch me before I fell over. He grinned. "Don't say it."

Oreius chuckled, "I have gotten used to this."

I rolled my eyes but smirked, "At least you caught me."

"Indeed."

He was still holding onto me, but I definitely didn't mind. The Kentauri looked like he was about to kiss me and then we heard Tuulea's voice and it (not to mention Tuulea herself) was coming closer. She was supposed to be at the tea I'd just escaped from, not down here in the gardens (and yes, I'm intentionally ignoring the fact that technically I'm not supposed to be here either). Oreius grabbed my hand as we quietly hurried further into the gardens. Unfortunately, we seemed to have chosen the same path Tuulea had (probably because if we went any other way, one of the guards would spot us together while holding hands) and we barely had time to jump down to the lower level and dodge inside the large arbor sheltering one of the tiny garden alcoves.

We were hidden…sort of. We were hiding under the arbor, which was covered in ivy, but the alcove itself was only large enough to hold one person. For now, I was standing in front of Oreius who had an arm around my waist while we both pressed back against the wall. I heard Tuulea talking as she came closer, "I'm telling you that she is in love with someone."

I wonder…does Tuulea ever take a break from matchmaking? I had a feeling that even when she made me take that trip to help me regain control over my emotions after the blood games mess, she'd been plotting to match me with someone (although she had never breathed a word of it). I tensed when I heard Alithia answer. "But is she in love with the right someone?"

Uh-oh, both matchmakers (well, the ringleaders of the matchmaking collective) were discussing someone…but who was the unfortunate focus of their attention? "Alambiel's judgment is such that she should be." Me, of course. Bother. I suddenly realized Oreius' grip around my waist was tightening. I fought to keep myself from snickering. Someone was feeling a bit possessive (and yes, I was sooo going to tease him over his reaction).

Thunder rumbled again and then it started raining. I sighed. I just knew it was going to end up raining on us. I missed the first part of Alithia's reply, "…should hope so since we've been pushing them toward each other for some time now. Isn't there any way we could get her to confess it?"

"Alambiel confess to being in love? If she were going to voluntarily confess without being pushed, it would have been when I had her alone. But, perhaps she was still sorting out her feelings. Still, right now they seem to be avoiding each other outside of their duties."

Alithia sounded absolutely exasperated (I wish I could've seen her face…it was probably that same look she got when she was trying to get the Kings or Oreius to behave themselves after being injured) when she countered, "Tuulea, you yourself said that Alambiel hadn't made the leap to even realizing she was falling in love with him. Are you certain that she is any closer to knowing she's in love?"

"No. But, after what they have been through, I know Alambiel is in love with Oreius. She may need some help realizing for sure that it is love and not just friendship, so that is what we will do."

The matchmakers wanted to match me with Oreius? Oh, if only they knew we had decided to match ourselves. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying desperately not to burst out laughing. Oreius clamped his hand over my mouth just as I snickered. He kissed my temple and I knew he was pretty amused too. The Kentauri pushed me back so I was standing inside the still-dry alcove while rain dripped through the arbor and onto him. _He's going to catch a cold._

I heard Alithia comment, "We can use the Yuletide festivities."

"Oh yes, of course, a little mistletoe will help. We did after all see a hint of something between them after last year's Christmas Day ball and their mistletoe kiss."

"Are you going to bribe the Raccoon kits into hanging mistletoe over the whole dance area again?"

I knew it! I knew Tuulea had something to do with those rascals hanging all that mistletoe up! Oreius clamped his hand over my mouth again to keep me from giving us away. Yes, secret courtship means I have to be quiet instead of jumping up and shouting 'Ah ha!' like I really wanted to at that moment. Fingering Tuulea for the mistletoe mischief or keep the matchmakers at bay until Oreius and I have been courting for more than one and a half months…I'm gonna say keep the matchmakers at bay wins…again.

It started raining harder and we finally heard Tuulea and Alithia retreat. But, we didn't go in right away. Oreius wouldn't let me out of the alcove either. He just gave me a stern look, "I don't want you to take ill, Alambiel."

"What about you?"

He grinned, "I don't get sick."

I rolled my eyes, but let him have his way. Twenty minutes later, I was ready to race back into the Cair. I glanced at Oreius, "Are you sure you want to wait a little while longer?"

He nodded, "A little rain never hurt anybody."

I laughed because I remembered saying that to him the first time I'd had a training session in the rain. "Don't melt, Kentauri." Then, I kissed his cheek and raised out from under the arbor. The rain wasn't coming down too hard as I raced out of the gardens, but it was coming down in sheets when I reached the doors. I could barely see three feet in front of me. I really hoped the Kentauri was inside the barracks by now.

It was still raining the next morning when I went down to training. Oreius was in the armory…sneezing and coughing. Yesterday I had been worried about being caught by the matchmakers, today it was obvious that something had been caught after all… The Kentauri had caught a cold.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! This oneshot has a sequel, ****_When the General was Sick_****.**


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